McConnell Cancels Senate’s August Recess

CALLS FOR “PROGRESS” ON TRUMP’S JUDICIAL NOMINEES, PASSAGE OF APPROPRIATIONS BILLS

by Sharon Rondeau

(Jun. 5, 2018) — Shortly before 1:30 PM EDT, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced on Twitter that he is canceling the customary month-long August recess for Congress’s upper chamber.

McConnell cited “historic obstruction by Senate Democrats” in approving President Trump’s judicial nominees, one of whom was confirmed earlier on Tuesday.

Constitutionally, the Senate vets and confirms, or withholds its approval, of the president’s judicial nominees.  A struggle between Democrats and Republicans over Trump’s nominees has ensued since at least early this year.  At present, more than a dozen judges have been nominated but not approved.

With the mid-term elections upcoming in November, one-third of the Senate faces campaign season.  The entire House of Representatives is elected every two years.  Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution states that “The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several states, and the electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislature.”

At 2:10 p.m., McConnell gave a press conference at which he said the Senate’s impending “work” is “to pass appropriations bills” instead of “omnibus” bills, which Trump said he will not sign since he signed the $1.3 trillion omnibus bill in March.  McConnel also said the Senate needs to “deal with the nomination backlog” of judges.

“I say to Congress, I will never sign another bill like this again,” Trump said during the March 23 press conference on the omnibus, which was unpopular with many “conservatives” but which was signed, according to Trump, because it funded the military and other necessary government functions.

In McConnell’s announcement, he acknowledged that Senators would spend the first week of August in their states.